Credit card interest rates these days!!!

[ditchdj]

My wife got a credit card offer in the mail. Nothing out of the ordinary: Fancy name, list of obnoxious fees. But the thing that really got my attention was the interest rate......

35.9% APR!!!!!


Eeeehhhh...........NO!!!!!

[Lachrymose]

GE Money bank (Paypal MC) raised my (already shitty) interest rate from 18% to 29.9% last month.

I called and talked to them and they said it was because I was 5 days late one time a few months ago..WTF...

I was so livid, but trying to be nice to the supervisor I was talking to (as well as the original CSR, who said she could neither tell me why nor reduce it..but transfered me to a supervisor after asking right away..so +1 rep for that.)

At first the supervisor was saying there was nothing he could do, but after a while he said something about a 6 month cure..where I had to make payments on time for 6 months straight..and I was already at month 5. He said he could then submit a request to have my rate lowered to the original rate, which is approved 8/10 times.

He gave me his ID and said I could talk to him directly next month..so I hope it all works out.

I know the credit card companies are trying to get all they can before the new laws take effect in February..but that was ridiculous.

[Zoom]

Wow... just wow. And I just got out of the credit card shuffle a few months ago. I wouldn't be surprised though, if my former CC company recently added a few % points... or digits... in a "Policy Update" notice that they send one of every month so you get a habit of throwing it away and miss the ones with the important changes.

Wonder how bad it'll be by next year after [Deleted to protect the space-time continuum!] happens?

[Lachrymose]

I realize that banks are kind of scared right now and all, but they really are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

I'm not saying I was a great customer or anything, but I did pay on time (minus that 5 day thing a few months ago) and my credit rating is fairly decent.

Luckily, another card (the only other one I have) is keeping the rate at the same 10% it's been for nearly the past 10 years. *crosses fingers that it stays that way*

[Android Kaeli]

I don't know what the interest rate is on my CC, I think it's around 10% or something like that. I pay off my card balance every month so not to have to worry about it so much. I'd have to look into it next time I open my bill up.

[cinema guy]

my two credit cards are at 0%. They will go up at some point though, but then I will transfer the balances.

[Rapscallion]

Mine's just jumped from 12% or so to 18% or so. I do the clear every month thing as well. Good job, really.

Rapscallion

[Gerrinson]

I had two cards at 13.5% and one card at 14.5%.

As of January 1st, I have one card at 13.5%, one card at 27%, and one card at 30%

I was already speaking to a loan officer about consolidating (only about 3k in total balance to consolidate) and once that is resolved, hopefully in my favor, I will be calling the high interest cards to ask them to either lower the rate or cancel my account.

I expect to cancel my 27% card anyway. The only reason I had a late payment is because they took it out of my account late. I scheduled a payment transfer for 3 days prior to the due date. They initiated it 1 day after the due date. So they're looking to lose me as a customer, it seems. Hope they enjoy collecting 0% interest on my non existent balance. Idiots.

The 30% card was my fault for being late on a payment (I thought I had paid it, but found the sealed envelope where it had fallen off of and under my car seat ) but if they won't lower the rate...